NONWOVENS FILTRATION TECHNICAL ENGINEER / PROJECT MANAGER

Rush & Company; Waco (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Rush & Company on behalf of a leading North American manufacturer of nonwoven filtration media seeks a Technical Engineer / Project Manager with 2–5 years of experience to drive development from concept through scale-up and commercialization.

You will coordinate with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams, own defined workstreams, run lab evaluations and pilot trials, and translate results into pragmatic scale-up decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Materials, Polymer, Textile, Mechanical, or related engineering field.
• 2–5 years of relevant experience in product development, process engineering, materials engineering, filtration, nonwovens, textiles, polymers, or manufacturing technical support.
• Demonstrated ability to manage project tasks, timelines, test plans, action items, and follow-through with minimal supervision.
• Strong communication, organization, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Own defined workstreams within R&D and product development projects from concept through prototype, pilot trial, scale-up, and launch.
• Build and maintain project timelines, milestones, action-item lists, test plans, and deliverable trackers.
• Coordinate with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Commercial, and external suppliers to keep projects moving forward.
• Identify technical, schedule, material, and operational risks and elevate issues with recommended solutions.
• Lead regular project updates and prepare concise summaries, data reviews, and presentations for internal stakeholders.
• Balance collaborative team execution with independent ownership of assigned project tasks and technical deliverables.

Skills

Project management

Lab evaluation

Filtration materials

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Materials, Polymer, Textile, Mechanical Engineering or related field

Tools

DOE methods

Lab instrumentation

Job description

Our Client is a leading North American manufacturer of nonwoven products and OEM materials, delivering high-quality, sustainable solutions to filtration and janitorial/sanitation markets in more than 70 countries. Headquartered in the US with operations across North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, they are focused on innovation, continuous improvement, and creating measurable value for customers. Through their Filtration Divisions, they develop products that matter - from high-performance filtration media to critical cleaning and surface solutions used every day across industries.

We are seeking a Technical Engineer / Project Manager with 2–5 years of experience to support the development, scale-up, and commercialization of high-performance filtration media and engineered nonwoven materials. This role is designed for a technically curious early-career professional who can contribute in a team environment while also taking ownership of defined projects, experiments, and deliverables. The ideal candidate has hands-on exposure to materials development, filtration testing, manufacturing, or product development and is ready to grow into broader project leadership within the nonwovens filtration industry.

You will help move projects from concept through prototype, pilot trial, scale-up, and commercialization while coordinating with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams. The position offers a balance of mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and autonomy for candidates who can organize work, communicate clearly, and drive progress against timelines.

Key Responsibilities

• Project Management - Primary Focus:
• Own defined workstreams within R&D and product development projects from concept through prototype, pilot trial, scale-up, and launch
• Build and maintain project timelines, milestones, action-item lists, test plans, and deliverable trackers
• Coordinate with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Commercial, and external suppliers to keep projects moving forward
• Identify technical, schedule, material, and operational risks and elevate issues with recommended solutions
• Lead regular project updates and prepare concise summaries, data reviews, and presentations for internal stakeholders
• Balance collaborative team execution with independent ownership of assigned project tasks and technical deliverables
• R&D / Technical:
• Support design, development, and optimization of nonwoven filtration media for air, liquid, HVAC, and industrial filtration applications
• Plan and execute lab evaluations, media trials, pilot runs, and material comparisons using structured test methods and clear documentation
• Analyze filtration and media performance metrics such as efficiency, pressure drop, airflow, permeability, durability, basis weight, uniformity, and processability
• Translate test results into practical recommendations for formulation, media construction, process conditions, and scale-up decisions
• Partner with manufacturing and operations teams to troubleshoot trials, improve process stability, and support successful transfer to production
• Maintain organized project records, test data, technical reports, and development summaries for internal and customer-facing use

Qualifications

• Required:
• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Materials, Polymer, Textile, Mechanical, or related engineering discipline, or equivalent work experience
• 2–5 years of relevant experience in product development, process engineering, materials engineering, filtration, nonwovens, textiles, polymers, or manufacturing technical support
• Demonstrated ability to manage project tasks, timelines, test plans, action items, and follow-through with minimal supervision
• Strong technical foundation in materials, polymers, filtration concepts, process development, or engineered media performance
• Comfortable working hands-on in lab, pilot, or manufacturing environments while also communicating project status to cross-functional teams
• Strong communication, organization, teamwork, and problem-solving skills

Preferred

• Experience in nonwovens, filtration media, air filtration, liquid filtration, HVAC filtration, meltblown, spunbond, needlepunch, electrospinning, coating, lamination, or related converting processes
• Familiarity with filtration performance metrics such as efficiency, pressure drop, dust holding capacity, durability, airflow, permeability, or media uniformity
• Experience with project tracking tools, stage-gate processes, design of experiments, lab testing, data analysis, technical reporting, or customer-focused development projects.

Why This Role

• Build technical depth in nonwovens filtration, engineered media, and product commercialization
• Gain exposure to the full development cycle from concept and lab testing through pilot trials, scale-up, and launch
• Work closely with experienced technical, manufacturing, quality, and commercial teams while owning meaningful project deliverables
• Grow project management capability in a role that offers both mentorship and increasing autonomy
• Contribute to filtration products where technical decisions directly affect performance, manufacturability, and customer value
• All Candidates must be able to provide work related references.